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Friday, March 29, 2024

Wrightsville Beach School to launch new marine science programs

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With its own dock and an experienced marine science instructor, Wrightsville Beach School is already unique for its coast-focused curriculum.

Beginning during the upcoming 2015-16 school year, students will have even more opportunities to learn about coastal topics when the school adds a weather program and in-depth algae studies.

The owner of a local coastal weather website donated a weather station at the dock located beside the school. The station, donated by SurfChex owner and founder Chris Marshall, will beam live data like temperature, humidity and wind speed on a large screen in the cafeteria.

“The kids are going to have a weather wall,” said Cissie Brooks, the school’s marine science coordinator. “It was a wonderful donation for us. It’s a great hands-on tool.”

Marshall installed the $1,250 weather station and receiver himself.

Marshall and Brooks first developed the idea for adding a weather station at Wrightsville Beach School while surfing at Masonboro Island. He will also instruct teachers how to use the new equipment.

“This is one way to give back some of the technology I’ve developed,” Marshall said. “It will give them real-world application for what they’re learning.”

Marshall, a former weather forecaster at Wilmington stations WECT and WWAY, said one of the highlights of his 10-year career as a TV meteorologist was visiting schools to share with the children his passion for weather. The weather station will give him an opportunity to do that again when he returns to the school to speak with the fifth graders about how to use the data.

“They can use that data in math class for graphing or comparing or other grade-appropriate activities. They’ll be using that information in marine sciences,” Brooks said.

Another benefit is that fifth graders must answer questions about weather during their state-administered end-of-grade (EOG) tests.

“It’s one of the things students in the county struggle with,” Brooks said.

Brooks develops targeted lesson plans for her marine science curriculum. She spends 40 minutes with each grade level every week. This year, she is adding algae studies to the third graders’ curriculum.

“We start out the year learning about sharks. Then, we’re going to collect algae and start a reference book for algae in the area,” she said.

The school’s coastal location provides an abundance of teaching opportunities, especially during the fall when the water is still warm.

“At the beginning of the school year through the end of October, when it’s high tide, I take the kids crabbing and fishing on the dock,” Brooks said. “Every class goes once a week. They write down how many fish they caught and how many male and female crabs they found.”

The fall curriculum continues with immersive educational experiences.

“In October, I take the kids kayaking,” Brooks said. “We go fishing out of the kayaks and we keep a running log of the temperature, water salinity and how many fish we caught.”

Fourth graders take trips to Seapath Marina to study the life that develops around submerged structures.

“We do a year-long study on saline organisms, which are things that grow attached to docks and pilings, like barnacles and sea squirts,” Brooks said.

Fifth graders venture to Masonboro Island with Masonboro.org, a nonprofit organization that works to preserve and beautify the island.

“They learn about ecosystems on a barrier island — salt marsh, maritime forest and the beach,” she said.

Students begin the marine science program in first grade by learning about fish, their body parts and adaptations, and completing a dissection.

“They love that,” Brooks said. “With second graders, I go through the different marine invertebrates. It takes a whole year.”

Brooks furthers the students’  marine science education by creating partnerships with community organizations. In the spring, before sea turtle nesting season, volunteers from the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project speak to her students. Members of the Harbor Island Garden Club plan a series of monthly field trips and activities, known as Rooty Rascals, with the fifth graders each year.

The fifth graders also learn about shore birds each spring from the Audubon Society’s Wrightsville Beach Bird stewards. Then, they take a field trip, sponsored by the Harbor Island Garden Club, to the bird sanctuary at the south end of Wrightsville Beach.

“Throughout the year, it’s great that we get to work with community partners,” Brooks said.

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